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Philadelphia, PA

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Circles Contemporary Thai

3.5 (473 reviews)
Open • 12:00 pm - 10:30 PM
Updated over 3 months ago

Order Circles Contemporary Thai Takeout or Delivery

Circles Contemporary Thai Photos

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CIRCLES CONTEMPORARY THAI ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Reviews With Photos

Pad Woonsen
La Denna R.

Really cute Thai food place. It's not a crazy big menu. But it's good. I got the padwoseen which was great. It was so good o didn't even add soy sauce to it. Which I usually do. The restaurant is super cute aesthetically as well and service is good. Go check it out.

Pineapple fried rice
William N.

This is one of our go-to places for Thai food. It is nicer than most other Thai restaurants. It's a bit pricier too but the portions are decent.

Dejah D.

The food here was amazing! Popped in on a random weekday, the restaurant was very quiet and romantic on the inside--Cute for a date night! The service was top tier, the staff was prompt, helpful and kind. I really enjoyed everything we ate--The crab pad Thai was to die for. We also had the Penang curry shrimp dish which was tasty too. And for starters the shrimp summer rolls and crab ragoon was the best I've ever had. I will be back soon!

Ling C.

Circles Thai is an unassuming restaurant located on the outskirts of Northern Liberties. It's a small restaurant with 10 tables. The ambiance and vibes are impeccable, especially when you consider the price of their food. It's perfectly dim and well decorated with flowers on the table and lining the walls of the beaches. It's one of the most classy casual Thai restaurants I've been to. Our server was also incredibly nice and attentive! Now for the food: We got the fried Thai rolls to share. They were so fresh, super hot, and incredibly stuffed with a perfect blend of meat, noodles, and vegetables. It had a perfectly crispy exterior and savory, soft, umami filling. We weren't sure what exactly the wrapper was. It was similar to rice paper wrapper as it had a unique texture; it still managed to have a chew to it which was awesome. The savory roll paired well with the sweet plum sauce. For my entree, I got the tofu pad Thai with a "hot" spice level. The tofu is deep fried so it was still crispy and there was a TON of it too! It had the perfect amount of vegetables and the noodles were perfectly cooked. This pad Thai is not sweet at all like some variations may be! It's spicy and has a nice deep flavor. I handle spice pretty well so I wouldn't say the "hot" is too spicy. It's a little less spicier than the Buldak noodles to me. The portions are super generous, I had leftovers! This place is being added to my rotation of regular restaurants!

Tofu green curry
Phylicia H.

Dined here for the first time last night and thought the food, service and ambiance were great! A small, quiet and clean restaurant with dim lighting. Majority of the people were actually dining alone. Our waitress was very kind and attentive. We picked spice level 3 for all dishes and she let us know she could always bring out extra spice if we want it hotter. We ordered the papaya salad, chicken pad Thai and tofu green curry to share. Everything was delicious! Papaya salad was nice and refreshing. Pretty presentation and a nice palette cleanser. The pad Thai was tasty, but was not the best I ever had. I'd still recommend it, but next time I will try a different noodle dish. Green curry was flavorful and a bit more liquidy than others. Great flavors and very filling. Byo spot with great prices. Highly recommend for a nice casual Thai dinner!

Panang Curry - Hot
Emily B.

Great flavor! Usually I order hot from Thai places and it barely has a kick but this place was actually very spicy. I would probably order medium next time. I selected "chicken" and it also came with vegetables which is great. Rice was included even though it didn't say so. Nice surprise!

Khao Soi
Karen N.

Wonderful tasty food! Comes out hot and very nice portions- a lot of choices too. Friendly and prompt service.

Pineapple curry w/ pork
Joseph T.

What a nice surprise! The girlfriend & I had tix to a show at the Foundry, and the places we wanted to eat were all completely full with super long waits. So at this point, we're just like, "First place that looks open and has availability, we just have to eat there." *Glances across the street* "What about that place?" Works for me! Yummy food! One of my favorite restaurants in my hometown has a pineapple curry that I absolutely love, so I had to get the pineapple curry at Circles to compare. They're nearly indistinguishable! Which is absolutely great news for me. The pork & crab dumplings were good. Not amazing. Just good. The sauce had some sweetness. Like a syrup? Molasses? I dunno, there's some sweetness in there. It was good, but not amazing. Never tasted the crab. Just the pork. Friendly staff. Nice decor. Good price. Lovely surprise. The only reason I hesitate to give it a 5th star is because it didn't blow my hair back. But, I did find myself nodding with approval quite a bit. Can't go wrong with Circles. I'll be visiting again, no question. Pro tip: if you like spicy food but don't like things *too* spicy, then level 3 will work just fine.

Jody S.

I can't believe I've never written a review about this establishment since it has been my go to take out location for years. I've had 2 dine in experiences and countless delivery orders. Each time that I've patronized this location parking was always a headache but that's not a surprise if you're familiar with the area. The restaurant is very warm and cozy inside. Each time I've dined in, I dined by the entrance and was warmly greeted and accommodated by the staff. There was some wait in getting our meals due to the high volume of orders they receive. The food though is consistent, delicious, and satisfying. My go to is the Pad See Ew with shrimp but I've had the Panang Curry, and Snapper in the past. I love spice so I get medium spicy and every now and then very spicy (which is not for the faint of heart). While to me this is the best Thai food in Philly, the portion of shrimp provided per dish is very small (5-6 shrimp). For this I would have to give 4 stars vs. 5 stars especially since the up-charge is significant. Anyway, we were looking for a Thai dinner last night and this satisfied my Thai food fix!

Crispy Red Snapper
Sha M.

Omg this spot is fire. I chose the spicy Thai option... Boy!!!! I love hot and spicy but this one here... Phew! It had my immune system flushed out. The sweat was pouring from while I keep trying to devour this dish. Philly don't play when it comes their dishes. I have to come to the location where they are making this fire bomb of flavor. The stuff I eat when I'm on the road working in the industry. Man!! Live, Love, and Laugh - Sha

chicken and shrimp Pad Kee Mow
Amanda W.

Thai food always make me happy. The spice level is 10/10 guaranteed make u sweat if you choose "hot". Happy for me a spicy addict. Thai tea is good, appetizers dumplings was better than the summer roll. The filling is so good and so was the dumpling sauce. Summer roll feels lacking shrimp and too much of vermicelli. Pad see ew and Pad kee mow were so good have to try. I love the seafood freshness and the tofu is so flavorful. Whole meal 10/10

Weird sauce with summer rolls. Way too salty
Jenny K.

I've been living in NoLibs for 4 years and some people will ask if I've had circles bc "it's so good". I hate to sound pretentious but having visited Thailand and having some of the best Thai food of my life I always refused to try this Thai restaurant that had been closed down a couple times for health violations. I finally decided to try it out to say that I've tried and in my honest opinion and for my fellow locals I have to say Baan Thai is a way better option if you're craving Thai takeout. Please refrain yourself from this whitewashed version of Thai food. And to the chefs and owner, do better. Summer rolls - I liked that the shrimp was cooked well but they were super warm which I did not like for summer rolls and no peanut sauce. Just a really salty hoisin like dipping sauce I didn't care for at all Pad see ew - the beef was so tough and chewy I refused to eat it. There were barely any noodles but lots and lots of vegetables. This was honestly a disgrace to the pad see ew! For the price I basically got sautéed vegetables with over cooked beef Red curry - this had way too much coconut milk and not enough curry paste. And I even ordered it the spiciest level! The chicken was so rubbery I also refused to eat it. It was also super watery. The best thing about my order was the side of brown rice. It was cooked well All in all, no one is allowed to tell me Circles is good Thai food anymore. The protein was inedible and the flavors were lost. This is your good ol gentrified Thai food

Crab Rangoon
Tamika B.

I've ordered from Circles Thai many, many, many times! The food has always been consistently good! The portion size is enough for two days! My most recent order, I had the very tasty crab rangoon! FYI, all crab rangoon are not created equal -- Circles Thai's are yummy! For the main meal, I had their pumpkin curry w/ shrimp. You can taste the flavors of the spices along with chunks of pumpkin and decent sized shrimp! The juices of the curry with the rice -- mmm mmm good! Love this dish! Typically, I order their Thai tea that is also delicious! This is a place where you can eat some good Thai food!

Pad Thai

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Reviews are mixed. Many highlight the flavorful Thai dishes, inviting ambiance, and friendly service.

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Food, ambiance, and service is incredible! Will definitely be returning for the Pad See Ew

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Circles Contemporary Thai - thai - Updated October 2026

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